In re Interest of Elijahking F.

Caselaw Number
313 Neb. 60
Filed On

Summary:

This is an appeal from the Separate Juvenile Court of Douglas County.  Following an adjudication hearing, the juvenile court entered an order finding that Elijahking F. was a child within the meaning of §43-247(1) in that he obstructed a peace officer. Elijahking timely appeals.

Johnna Kripal and Wade Grim, deputies with the Douglas County sheriff’s office, went to the residence of Elijahking F. to serve a protection order on his mother and arrest her on a misdemeanor warrant. The deputies encountered 17-year-old Elijahking and his mother in the front yard. The deputies were in uniform and displaying their badges of authority.

As Kripal approached, she informed Elijahking and his mother of the protection order and warrant for the mother’s arrest. When Kripal tried to serve the mother with the protec­tion order, Elijahking stepped in front of Kripal, flexed his arms, and started yelling at the deputies. Ultimately, the deputies placed handcuffs on Elijahking and removed him to the back of their cruiser. Kripal was then able to serve Elijahking’s mother with the papers. The entire encounter lasted 5 to 10 minutes.

The State filed a petition in the separate juvenile court of Douglas County, alleging that Elijahking was a juvenile within § 43-247(1) for obstructing a peace officer. During an adju­dication hearing, the juvenile court heard the testimonies of Kripal and Elijahking.

Kripal testified that at first, Elijahking was yelling repeat­edly, “‘Are you serious?’” Then, he said to Kripal: “‘You’re little. You’re going to need that gun.’” When asked if those words raised Kripal’s level of awareness of the situation, she answered, “Yes.” As Kripal was going to step around Elijahking to arrest his mother, Elijahking “kind of stepped in front of Kripal.” Kripal clarified that Elijahking “inserted his way in between” Kripal and Elijahking’s mother, who had started moving back. Kripal testified that there was enough room for her to move around Elijahking, which is what she was trying to do. Grim then “took Elijahking down.” Kripal testified that Elijahking’s actions hindered or slowed her goal of serving Elijahking’s mother.

Elijahking testified that he and his mother were “trying to just go inside” and that the deputies “kind of just forced us to stop.” The deputies stated that they needed to serve a protection order and then Kripal pulled out her gloves. Elijahking testified that when he asked why Kripal needed gloves to serve a protection order, she informed him that his mother had a warrant and that they were going to take her to jail. Elijahking then became very upset and used profanity. According to Elijahking, his mother had been backing steadily up the stairs to the porch. He testified that the deputies were circling him on the stairs to the point where the back of his legs were up against the stairs. He explained that he could not move anywhere if he wanted to get out of their way. Elijahking testified that once Kripal tried to get past him, Grim “attacked” Elijahking and Elijahking showed some resistance as Grim tried to take him down. According to Elijahking, he was merely showing frustration and was not trying to interfere with the deputies.

The juvenile court found that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Elijahking was a juvenile described in § 43-247(1). It further found that Kripal’s testimony was “more credible, probative, reliable and entitled to weight.” Elijahking alleges that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the crime of obstructing a peace officer.

To show a violation of § 28-906(1), the State must prove that (1) the defendant intentionally obstructed, impaired, or hindered either a peace officer, a judge, or a police animal assisting a peace officer; (2) at the time the defendant did so, the peace officer or judge was acting under color of his or her official authority to enforce the penal law or preserve the peace; and (3) the defendant did so by using or threatening to use either violence, force, physical interference, or obsta­cle.  Elijahking challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as to each of the three elements.

1. Intent

Elijahking contends that the State failed to prove his actions were intentional. This argument is directed to the ele­ment requiring that an individual “intentionally obstructed, impaired, or hindered” a peace officer. Intentionally means willfully or purposely, and not accidentally or involuntarily. Elijahking’s argument attacks the lack of insight pro­vided by Kripal’s testimony into Elijahking’s mindset or intentions. But the intent with which an act is committed is a mental process and may be inferred from the words and acts of the defendant and from the circumstances surrounding the incident. Kripal’s testimony established that as she tried to serve papers on Elijahking’s mother, Elijahking became agi­tated, stepped in front of Kripal, flexed his arms, and yelled at the deputies. Kripal further testified that Elijahking told her she was going to need her gun. One can reasonably infer from Elijahking’s behavior that he intended to obstruct, impair, or hinder the deputies.  Thus, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Elijahking intentionally obstructed, impaired, or hindered the deputies.

2. Color of Official Authority Alternatives

To satisfy the second element of obstructing a peace offi­cer, the State must prove that at the time of the defendant’s obstruction, impairment, or hindrance, the peace officer was acting under color of his or her official authority to enforce the penal law or preserve the peace.  Elijahking’s arguments regarding the peace officer’s alternative purposes rely upon statutory interpretation. After setting forth principles of statu­tory interpretation, the Supreme Court discusses whether the deputies were act­ing under color of their official authority and whether they were enforcing the penal law or preserving the peace.

(a) Statutory Interpretation

When considering the text of a criminal statute, the Court follows well-known principles of statutory interpretation and construction. Penal statutes are considered in the context of the object sought to be accomplished, the evils and mischiefs sought to be remedied, and the purpose sought to be served. Effect must be given, if possible, to all parts of a penal stat­ute; no sentence, clause, or word should be rejected as mean­ingless or superfluous if it can be avoided.  In the absence of anything indicating otherwise, statutory language is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning.

(b) Color of Official Authority

The Court quickly disposed of the color of official authority com­ponent. The deputies were in uniform and displaying their badges of authority when Kripal informed Elijahking’s mother of the protection order and arrest warrant. There is no dispute that they were acting under color of their official authority at the time of their encounter with Elijahking. The next compo­nent is whether the deputies were either enforcing the penal law or preserving the peace.

(c) Enforcement of Penal Law

The deputies went to Elijahking’s residence to serve a pro­tection order on his mother and to arrest her on a misdemeanor warrant. Elijahking does not dispute that executing an arrest warrant qualifies as the enforcement of the penal law, but he argues that serving a protection order does not.

Penal laws are those imposing punishment for an offense committed against the state and which the executive of the state has power to pardon.  There can be no doubt that a peace officer’s arrest or investigation of a person for violat­ing a protection order, which is a crime, would qualify as enforcement of the penal law. But here, there was no evidence regarding a violation of the protec­tion order.

The question is whether merely serving a protection order qualifies as enforcement of the penal law. The record does not reveal the type of protection order or who obtained it. The penal law explicitly provides for a peace officer’s involvement in serving harassment and sexual assault protection orders. Thus, if the deputies here were trying to serve a harassment or sexual assault protection order, doing so would fall within the scope of enforcing the penal law. Similarly, § 42-926 plainly provides for service of a domestic abuse protec­tion order by law enforcement, and as mentioned, violation of such a protection order is a crime. To the extent there is any doubt regarding whether serving a protection order falls within the ambit of § 28-906(1), it fits within the alternative law enforcement function of preserva­tion of the peace.

(d) Preservation of Peace

Even if a peace officer is not involved in enforcement of the penal law, an individual may not intentionally obstruct the officer’s “preservation of the peace.” “Preservation of the peace,’” as used in § 28-906(1), means maintaining the tranquility enjoyed by members of a commu­nity where good order reigns.  

The Supreme Court made note of the ancient pedigree of preservation of the peace, providing historical context as far back as the common law of England. In light of the historical context, the Court turned to the plain lan­guage of the current statute. It prohibits a person from, among other things, using or threatening to use violence or obstacle to intentionally hinder “the enforcement of the penal law or the preservation of the peace by a peace officer.”  

By enacting protection order statutes, the Legislature intended to protect applicants from abuse. It wished to pro­tect victims from being willfully harassed, intentionally terri­fied, threatened, or intimidated.  It also endeavored to aid in the prevention and elimination of domestic violence. The very goal of a protection order is to preserve the peace. For purposes of § 28-906(1), the serving of a protection order by a peace officer falls within “preservation of the peace.” Thus, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the deputies were engaged in “the enforcement of the penal law or the preservation of the peace.”

3. Obstruction

Finally, Elijahking contends that the State failed to show the deputies were obstructed by his statements or actions. He highlights that the entire encounter occurred over a short period of time and that Kripal testified she was able to serve Elijahking’s mother with the paperwork. But that does not mean that Elijahking did not obstruct the deputies. To satisfy the third element of § 28-906(1), the State needed only to show that Elijahking “used or threatened to use violence, force, physical interference, or obstacle” to intentionally obstruct, impair, or hinder the deputies. The State did so.

The word interference means “the action or fact of interfering or intermeddling (with a person, etc., or in some action).” Similarly, obstacle means “something that stands in the way or that obstructs progress (literal and figurative); a hindrance, impediment, or obstruction.” Giving § 28-906(1) its plain and ordinary meaning, the Court previously determined that a disruptive youth’s act of running away from police officers constituted a physical obstacle that obstructed, impaired, or hindered the officers’ efforts to preserve the peace. The Court also determined that repeatedly refusing to comply with police orders to exit a vehicle during a traffic stop that was part of an active police investigation was suf­ficient to show that a defendant used physical interference or obstacle to intentionally obstruct, impair, or hinder the officers in their investigation.

The evidence here established that Elijahking inter­fered with the deputies’ mission. Threats can be expressed verbally, as well as through gestures and physical acts.  Kripal testified that when she tried to serve the protection order, Elijahking stepped in front of her. Similarly, when Kripal attempted to step around Elijahking to arrest his mother, Elijahking stepped in front of Kripal. This presented an obstacle and interfered with Kripal’s ability to serve the mother with paperwork and execute an arrest. Kripal further testified that Elijahking was agitated, flexed his arms, yelled at the deputies, and told Kripal she would “‘need that gun.’” Such behavior could reasonably be interpreted as threaten­ing to use violence. Ultimately, the deputies placed handcuffs on Elijahking and removed him to their cruiser, which was a diversion from their mission. When asked if Elijahking’s actions “hindered or slowed Kripal’s original goal of serv­ing” the mother, Kripal answered, “Yes.” The State proved that Elijahking obstructed the deputies.

Conclusion

The State adduced sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Elijahking intentionally obstructed the deputies by using or threatening to use violence, physical interference, or obstacle while the deputies acted under color of their official authority to enforce the penal law or preserve the peace. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the juvenile court’s order adjudicating him to be a child within the mean­ing of § 43-247(1).